Bent shaft putter

ABSTRACT

Putter and method of using the putter by a golfer for hitting a golf ball along an intended target line. The golfer places himself in a position with his face facing the target and curves himself somewhat forwards into a relaxed position and twists around a vertical axis and/or inclines himself somewhat to the side so that the head and the eyes are positioned essentially above the target line. Then, the natural pendulum movement of the arm will be essentially parallel to the target line. The grip (12) of the putter is adapted so that when the hand grasps the grip of the putter, it does not influence upon the pendulum movement of the arm, which means that the symmetry axis of the grip comprises a backward angle relative to the vertical of between 10 and 40 degrees and an inwards angle of between 5 and 15 degrees.

AREA OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a putter for golf and in more detailsto a new design of a putter and a method of using the new putter.

PRIOR ART

According to previously known technique within the golf game, there isused a particular type of golf club named putter for performing hits atthe green for bringing the golf ball to the hole. The putter has aconstruction which in several respects differs from other golf clubs.During putting, the golf ball in all essentials always contacts theground or the grass.

A putt is today performed so that the golfer places himself beside thegolf ball with one side, usually the left side, if fight handed, facingthe golf hole, essentially in the same way as with other types of golfswings, i.e. the face is perpendicular to the ball path. Then, the golfclub is grasped with both hands and used for hitting the ball with asuitable start speed and direction for reaching the hole. In dependenceof which speed is required, a corresponding back swing is used, i.e. theputter is brought back a certain angle and then forwards for hitting theball.

A putt is a very delicate blow and requires a great concentration of thegolfer. Any unnecessary tension in the ann or the body can disturb sucha swing. Already the fact that it is required to lift the club a certainangle with both arms entails a certain tension which can be a drawback.

One of the best golfers ever, Sam Snead, used a special puttertechnique, placing the ball between his feet and putting the ballstraight forward from his body. However, this technique was prohibitedaccording to international Golf Rules, which requires the golfer tostand to one side of the intended ball path.

According to U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,212,651, 4,163,554 and 4,227,694 severalputters are disclosed, which are adapted for straight forward putting.It is noted that all such previously known putters are used with atwo-hand grip.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to suggest a construction of aputter which makes possible that the arms and the body can bepractically completely relaxed without using other forces than necessaryfor keeping the golfer upright.

Another object of the invention is to provide a putter, which is usedwith a one-hand grip and with the face essentially facing the intendedball path.

A further object of the invention is to provide a purer in which theputter grip is constructed specifically for allowing a relaxed grasp ofthe putter grip with one hand and to use the arm's natural pendulummovement, similar to walking.

Moreover, the object of the present invention is to provide a method ofusing said putter for achieving a convenient placement of the body andarm so that an unconstrained movement of the arm is permitted.

Thus, there is provided according to the invention a putter comprising ashaft, a club head and a grip, wherein the club head is attached to theshaft eccentrically and comprising a bend so that the grip of the clubis positioned essentially vertically above the centre of the head, whilethe shaft comprises a first angle to the vertical, and the grip beingconically shaped and the symmetry axis of the grip comprises a secondangle to the shaft, said first and second angles being combined forproviding a backward angle, for example between 10 and 40 degrees, andan inward angle, for example between 5 and 15 degrees, of the symmetryaxis of the grip for providing a convenient position for the grip to begrasped by one hand of the golfer in a relaxed position. Preferably, thegrip has a conical shape and the shaft is displaced within the conicalshape to provide said first angle between the symmetry axis of the gripand the shaft.

Said conical shape may have the largest surface facing upwards, or thelargest surface facing downwards. Said grip may comprise a bulge at thelarge end like a pistol grip. It is convenient if the grip comprises aflat surface essentially facing the target line. It is preferred to endthe shaft in an inclined cut and that the grip is a sleeve which at theattachment at the shaft obtains said second angle in relation to theshaft.

The head of the club may be provided with aiming lines, which are hiddencompletely or partially by the shaft when the club is correctly alinedand hangs freely with its mass centre straight below the hand grip, andwhich during the swing gives the golfer an indication if the club ismoving along the correct hit line. It is advantageous if the grip isprovided with a lining of a foamed polyurethan material with open cells.

According to the invention, there is also provided a method of using theputter by a golfer for hitting a golf ball along an intended targetline. First, the golfer places himself in a position with his face inthe target direction, and curves himself forwards in a relaxed position.Secondly, the golfer rotates himself around a vertical axis and/ortwists himself somewhat to the side so that the head and eyes arepositioned essentially above the target line and the natural pendulummovement of the arm at and around the shoulder joint is essentiallyparallel to the target line. Then, the golfer grasps the putter by thethumb and forefinger and the remaining fingers in a relaxed positionwhich essentially does not influence the pendulum movement of the arm,and performs a pendulum movement of the arm backwards and forwards forhitting the golf ball. It is preferred that the pendulum movementbackwards is initiated by a pressure by the thumb on the grip of theputter.

SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is described in more details below with reference topreferred embodiments and with reference to the appended drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a golfer performing a put according toprevious technique.

FIG. 2 is a side view in perspective of a golfer performing a putaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 2 but from a differentdirection.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a putter according to the invention.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the putter according to FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a front view of an alternative embodiment of a putteraccording to the invention.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the putter according to FIGS. 4 and 5.

FIG. 8 is a side view of a grip according to the invention.

FIG. 9 is a side view of an alternative grip according to the invention.

FIG. 10 is a side view of another alternative grip according to theinvention.

FIG. 11 is a side view of an inverted grip according to the invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic plan view of a position of the golfer whenperforming the swing according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view of an alternative position of thegolfer when performing the swing according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

It is mentioned that the normal golf swing is relatively unsuitable forputting. Many golfers places great demands in training a golf swingwhich can result in 200 meters ball path but forgets the importance ofthe putter. It is however realized that a missed putt is equallyimportant for the end result.

According to the present invention there is used a completely differentmovement which can be performed essentially without tensions, viz. apendulum movement in which the arm moves from a position behind the bodyand forwards. Such a movement makes it possible for the golfer to placehis face against the goal, which makes easier the aiming.

The object of such a placement and movement is to use the most normalpendulum movement of the arm, viz. the same movement as when walking. Inorder to be able to use such a pendulum movement, the purer must beconstructed so that the club head is facing forwards instead of to theside as the putters of today. The direction of movement of the putteraccording to the invention will be called straight forward putting.

In FIG. 1 there is shown a conventional putting in which the golfer'sface is perpendicular to the intended bail path. The golfer 1 placeshimself to one side of the ball 2 and with the putter 3 grasped withboth hands. The arrow 4 indicates the movement of the club during theswing.

In FIG. 2 there is shown a putting according to the present invention. Aputter 10 according to the invention is gasped by one hand and thegolfer places himself in the same direction as the intended bail path.The arm is essentially straight and moves in the same direction as themovement when walking.

In FIG. 3, the same situation as in FIG. 2 is shown but from the front.A way to achieve the position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 which is suitablefor the putter according to the invention is to use the followingmovement scheme. First the golfer places himself beside the ball withboth feet at the same side of the ball and with the face facing thehole. Then, he bends himself somewhat forwards until the back andshoulder portions feels completely relaxed and at the same time, theknees are bent to prevent tensions in the legs and hip.

One finds that the arms now hang straight and freely before the body andare free to oscillate around the shoulder joint. However, the shoulderjoint is constructed so that the oscillating movement takes placeinwards like a skater and not parallel to the target line.

In order to obtain a natural pendulum movement parallel to the targetline, the body must be twisted to the right, whereupon the head andshoulder move outside the support surface of the body and above thetarget line. The body is twisted to such an extent that the pendulummovement of the arm will be parallel to the target line, which may bearound 30°. It can also be necessary to incline the body somewhat to theright for the arm to be free from the legs. Moreover, the head isrotated backwards and moved so that the eyes will be positioned aboveand parallel to the target line.

Then, the purer is positioned so that the purer head is perpendicular tothe bail and the club is moved backwards and then forwards as far andwith a speed required for the intended swing. The club is held with onehand only. It is important that the club in the very hit moment is notinfluenced by any forces from the arm but the hit must be completelyclean so that the inertial energy of the club head is transformed to theball.

It is advantageous if the eyes and the shoulder are positioned rightabove the target line for the golf ball.

It is realized that the above-mentioned position can be taken directlywithout following the above-mentioned movement sequence. It is importantthat the natural pendulum movement of the arm follows the direction ofthe target line and that the same position is taken by the body eachtime so that the putt will be carefully controlled, repeatable andpredictable.

One design of the purer according to the invention is shown in FIG. 4.The putter comprises a head 11, a hand grip 12 and a straight shaft 13interconnecting the head and the grip. The lower part 14 of the shaft isbent as shown and as will be described in more details below. The grip12 is constructed in a specific way according to the invention in orderto adapt the putter to the method of using it according to theinvention.

It is mentioned that the head and shaft can be constructed in anyconventional manner within the intentions mentioned below. Thus, thehead can have any suitable construction so that the hit point or "sweet"point of the head is made perfect. This can imply mass concentrations atthe heel and toe portions of the club head as is well-known.

If the arm hangs right downwards with a purer in the hand, there is atendency for the putter to come too near the foot and the leg of thegolfer, whereby there is a risk that the club will hit the foot or theknee of the golfer. There is not enough place for the pendulum movementof the arm and the purer. In order to overcome this drawback, the clubhead 4 of the purer is eccentrically attached to the shaft at the outerend of the club head, c.f. FIG. 5.

As appears from FIG. 5, the shaft is attached to the club head in aposition as far from the body of the golfer as possible. The club headcomprises a toe portion 15 facing the body of the golfer and a heelportion 16, to which the shaft is attached. Then, the shaft 14 extendsfurther to the left as seen in FIG. 5 and is finally bent to the rightat 17 to connect to the straight portion 13 of the shaft.

It is also possible to make place for the arm by inclining the body moreoutwards, whereby preferably, the club head is centrally attached.

There are certain Rules which governs the design of a putter, whichtoday are internationally accepted. According to such Rules, the axis ofthe shaft from the top to a point not more than 5 inches above the solemust diverge from the vertical in the toe-heel plane by at least 10degrees when the club is in its normal address position. Moreover, aputter grip may have non-circular cross-section, provided thecross-section has no concavity and remains generally similar throughoutthe length of the grip. The grip may be tapered but must not have anybulge or waist.

It is noted that the lower portion of the putter satisfies such Rules,since the bent portions are at the lower 5 inches of the shaft.

For the purpose of the present invention it is essential that the grip12 of the putter is constructed so that the putter can be grasped by onehand without any tensions appearing. In FIG. 3, the left hand of thegolfer is shown in a completely relaxed position. It is noted that thefingers are slightly bent and the thumb nail faces somewhat inwardstowards the body. If a club grip should be grasped by the hand simply byfurther bending the fingers, it is necessary that the grip extendsbackwards and somewhat inwards towards the body, seen from the bottom ofthe grip and to the top.

The natural position for the hand holding an object of the weight of theputter, is to angle somewhat outwards, as shown in FIG. 3. Therefore,the hand grip 12 should be angled somewhat inwards in order to suit thenatural position of the hand. This inward angle is relatively small,e.g. between 5° and 15°, and preferably around 8°.

As appears from FIG. 4, the grip 12 is also angled backwards for suitingthe normal relaxed position of the hand. This backward angle is greaterthan the above-mentioned inward angle, e.g. between 10° and 40°,preferably around 25°.

It is mentioned that said angles can be determined by experiments fordifferent types of golfers and can vary somewhat in dependence ofpreferences of the golfer. According to experiments up to now, certainangles as mentioned above can suit relatively many golfers so that aputter with said angles can be made and suit most golfers. When thegolfer becomes better, it is of greater importance that the angles areadapted to the individual golfer and then a putter can be made for thatgolfer.

The exact angles of the grip of the putter can vary from person toperson. Thus, as shown in FIG. 6, it is advantageous if the putter isattached to the shaft with a universal joint 18 of the same type as usedin a camera stand etc., i.e. with a possibility to adapt the anglebetween the hand grip and the shaft and then lock the position obtainedwith a lock screw. Then, each golfer can set the angle he likes himselfand which suits his or her movement scheme and anatomy. Since the forcesexerted on the putter are small, said technique can be used without therisk that the position is changed unintentionally during use.

However, such a club is not allowed according to said Golf Rules. Thus,such a club can only be used for evaluation purposes.

In order to achieve said angles mentioned above, which are necessary forthe arm being able to follow a relaxed pendulum movement similar to thewalking pendulum, it is necessary to construct the grip in a specificway.

The inward angle is easily achieved since the shaft already should havean angle of at least 10° to the vertical. This angle is obtained by theeccentric attachment of the club head as shown in FIG. 5. Since the handgrip and the mass centre of the head should be placed approximately onthe same vertical, it is necessary that the the outer bend 17 is placedabove the heel or even outside the heel of the head, as shown in FIG. 5.

The backward angle is more difficult to achieve. It is possible to bendthe shaft forwards and than backwards again to connect to the straightportion 13 of the shaft. However, a different solution is used accordingto the present invention.

It is noted that there is much place in the hand between the littlefinger and the flat side of the hand and in order to fill that space,the grip is enlarged into a pistol grip 19 at the upper end of the grip,as clearly is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. Then, the symmetry axis of thegrip, shown by dotted line 20 in FIG. 8, has a certain angel to theshaft 13, which forms said backward angle. Said backward angle can beenlarged by bending the lower portion of the shaft at 21 as shown inFIG. 7.

When the putter according to the invention is grasped by the golfer, hetakes the club shaft first between the thumb and the forefinger. Inorder to have in indication that the putter is held correctly, the gripmay be provided with a plan surface 22, c.f. FIGS. 7 and 8, parallelwith the shaft, the normal of said surface being directed against thetarget. The object is that the thumb shall be put at said surface 22 andthe forefinger shall press the thumb securely against said surface.However, when the hand hangs along the body as according to the presentinvention, the normal of the thumb nail will point to the left of thetarget (for a right-handed person). Thus, the plan surface of the gripshould, according to the present invention, be angled in exactly thesame way, i.e. so that the normal of the surface points to the left ofthe target. Said object is obtained according to the invention byrotating the grip somewhat in relation to the shaft so that said plansurface have a desired direction. It is suitable to select said angel toaround 10° but said angle is also subject to personal preferences fromup to 20° and possibly down to around 5° from the target line. It isalso noted that the knuckle of the hand is directed to the right and notbackwards as could be seen in other designs.

If the grip is shaped as defined above, the hand can grasp the putter atthe grip without unnecessary movement of the hand. The inward angle andthe backward angle are obtained with a straight shaft, due to the inwardinclination of the entire shaft by 10° and the pistol grip, which feelslike an inclination backwards.

As shown in FIG. 7, the lower side 23, c.f. FIG. 7, of the club head isrounded so that it cannot be stopped at possible unregularities in theground. It is realized that the risk of a stop in the ground is minimalwith the putter according to the present invention since the distancefrom the shoulder to the ground is fixed during the entire movementsince the lowest position of the club head is determined by the distancefrom the shoulder to the ground. A very precise hit can be obtainedaccording to the present invention.

Further adoptions of the putter to a convenient and relaxed grasp of thehand can be achieved within the scope of the present invention byforming the hand grip in different ways. In FIGS. 8 and 9 two variantsare shown which can be used. The shaft is provided with a sleeve ofrubber being the hand grip. Said sleeve is dimensioned with differentthickness. In FIG. 8 there is shown the pistol grip 19 which isspecifically suitable for the present invention. Certain golfers canalso prefer that the grip is made thicker 24 at the front side as well,i.e. the side facing the hole as shown in FIG. 9.

In order to further increase the backward angle between the grip and thevertical, it is possible to cut the shaft according to an inclined line25, as shown in FIG. 10 so that the shaft ends in an arrow. The handgrip attached to the club will then automatically have a certain angleto the grip as clearly appears from FIG. 10. Said angle is used forobtaining the backward angle according to the present invention.

Another design of the hand grip is shown in FIG. 11, in which the gripis shaped as a cone 26 with the large base 27 thereof being turneddownwards. Also in this design is the con-shape used for inclining thesymmetry axis 28 of the grip in relation to the shaft for obtaining saidbackward and inward angle. It has also shown convenient to add a bulge29 for the thumb.

The putter according to FIG. 11 (and according to the preceding Figures)can be used so that the putter is grasped between the thumb and theforefinger, whereupon the other fingers grasp the grip. The putter isallowed to hang freely so that the club head is placed immediatelybehind the ball. Then, there is exerted a pressure by the thumbbackwards, resulting in that the putter is moved backwards. Then, thepressure is released and the purer is allowed to move forwards to theball by the gravity force to hit the ball. In this way a very relaxedswing is obtained.

It is mentioned above a certain movement scheme for finding the correctposition of the body. This position can of course be taken directly by askilled person. It has generally shown that the position shown in FIG.12 will suit many persons, the left foot being placed a small bit behindthe right foot. In FIG. 13 it is shown that some persons may prefer toplace the left foot more behind the right foot, like when playing dartor other precision sports.

According to the invention, the grip of the putter can be provided witha certain lining of a soft material, such as open-cellic polyurethanfoam. Said material has the property that it adapt itself after thepressure of the fingers against the material and then maintain said formand return to the original form relatively slow. Said material can beconstructed with different ability to form itself by giving the opencells of the material different sizes and with different speedsreturning to the original shape. According to the present invention, thematerial should be relatively rigid and has a thickness of about 5-10mm.

In order to be be still more secure that the pendulum movement accordingto the invention is followed, it may be suitable to provide the clubhead with leading lines 30, c.f. FIG. 4, which visually tells the golferthat the club oscillates in the correct direction. By providing the clubhead with leading lines following the shaft of the head, one will obtaina visual indication on that the club follows the correct path. Saidleading lines appears as lines parallel to the shaft when viewed fromabove. If the club is turned backwards to the right or the left, saidleading lines will be visible beside the shaft and the golfer will havean indication on that something is wrong and can put himself in a morecorrect position.

Still another feature is suitable to include in the club. It is suitableto shape the lower surface of the club head so that when the club is puton the green immediately behind the ball, it will stand still in acorrect position. The correct position is when the mass point of theshaft and the club head is straight above each other. The only conditionwhich must be fulfilled according to the invention is that the lowersurface of the club head shall be horizontal when the club hangs incorrect position in the hand of the golfer.

Hereinabove has been described some preferred embodiments of theinvention in order to explain the invention, However, it is realizedthat the embodiments may be altered within the ideas mentioned above andit is intended the the invention should encompass also suchmodifications obvious to a skilled person reading this specification,The invention is only limited m the appended patent claims.

I claim:
 1. A putter comprising:a shaft; a club head on one end of theshaft; and a grip on an opposite end of the shaft; wherein the club headis on the shaft eccentrically in at least one of a toe-heel plane and afront-rear plane; wherein the shaft has a bend at the one end so thatthe grip is positioned essentially vertically above a center of the clubhead when the shaft is at a first angle to the vertical; and wherein thegrip is conically shaped and oriented to define a symmetry axis thatforms a second angle to the shaft, said first and second angles togetherproviding a backward angle in the front-rear plane of between 10 and 40degrees and an inward angle in the toe-heel plane of between 5 and 15degrees to the symmetry axis relative to the vertical, whereby toprovide a convenient position for the grip to be grasped by one hand ofthe golfer in a relaxed position.
 2. A putter according to claim 1,wherein the conical shape has a first cross section and a larger crosssection father from the club head than the first cross section.
 3. Aputter according to claim 2, wherein the grip has a pistol-grip-likebulge at an end farthest from the club head.
 4. A putter according toclaim 3, wherein the opposite end of the shaft is an inclined surfaceand the grip is a sleeve having a symmetry axis forming said secondangle in relation to the shaft by conforming to said inclined surface.5. A putter according to claim 2, wherein the opposite end of the shaftis an inclined surface and the grip is a sleeve having a symmetry axisforming said second angle in relation to the shaft by conforming to saidinclined surface.
 6. A putter according to claim 1, wherein the conicalshape has a first cross section and a larger cross section closer to theclub head than the first cross section.
 7. A putter according to claim6, wherein the grip has a flat surface essentially facing a target line.8. A putter according to claim 6, wherein the club head is provided withaiming lines, which are hidden completely or partially by the shaft whenthe club is correctly aligned and hangs freely with its mass centerstraight below the grip, and which during the swing gives the golfer anindication if the club is moving along the correct target line.
 9. Aputter according to claim 1, wherein the grip is provided with a liningof a foamed polyurethane material with open cells.
 10. A putteraccording to claim 1, wherein the club head is provided with aiminglines, which are hidden completely or partially by the shaft when theclub is correctly aligned and hangs freely with its mass center straightbelow the grip, and which during the swing gives the golfer anindication if the club is moving along the correct target line.
 11. Aputter according to claim 1, wherein the grip is provided with a liningof a foamed polyurethane material with open cells.